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Do you think the decision to vaccinate should lie with parents? Or should the government and schools get involved?

I
value my pediatrician's advice, but I don't always do as he has
suggested. I make informed decisions and to some extent, I also trust my
instincts. My kids are vaccinated on a slightly modified schedule and
there are seasonal vaccinations that we say no to. There are risks with
every vaccine, just as there are risks with not getting vaccinated,
which is why I believe parents should have the right to choose to vax their children or not.

Vaccinations shouldn't be forced upon us by doctors or the government -- it should be up to the parent. Philosophical exemptions should be allowed for every school, public and private.

I
spoke with two moms who agree. Ginger Summerford Gorrell, a mom of
three from North Carolina, shared, "I trust the schools to make the best
educational choices for my child, from curriculum choices to quality
teachers. Health care choices, however, are for me to make with my
child's doctor."

New York mom of two Rebecca Wong said, "We should have the right --
the choice -- to sift through the available information and research on
vaccines and decide which ones and on what schedule we -- together with
our pediatrician -- feel comfortable vaccinating our children.
Unfortunately, that ideal doesn't match our reality. There are some
vaccines I feel no hesitation about giving to my kids (on a delayed
schedule) while there are others I'd like to see more long term research
on that doesn't come from the pharmaceutical company that manufactures
and profits from it."

That research, and who it is funded by, puts far too many questions
in parents' minds. How can we feel truly safe injecting our children's
bodies with something when the safety of it -- the long term safety --
can be questioned. That is where our instinct kicks in -- that voice in
our head that says it's okay to go ahead or that we should wait. I've
waited to vaccinate when we were scheduled, even on our delay, when my
child was sick, even if it was just a cold.

When it comes to school, all children despite if they are vaccinated
or not, should be allowed in. We pay a lot of taxes for public school.
And private schools are costly. Most likely a private school will have
full disclosure on their policies and parents see if it's in line with
their way of thinking so this isn't much an issue there. But it is for
public schools. If a parent is that concerned that their child
will be studying next to a kid who hasn't been vaccinated, then that
parent should also consider never taking their child to the supermarket,
the public parks, the library, or on any playdate without first seeing
records of immunization. There are people all over this world
who aren't vaccinated, not just in schools, not just children. Any time
we step out the door, there is a chance we can catch something.
But we can't live with that kind of paralyzing and overly cautious kind
of fear. There are also some kids who have severe allergic reactions to
eggs who cannot be vaccinated, so children like this -- under this
thought -- shouldn't be allowed at school
either. How could that be allowed? Should we start separating the vax
from no-vax, giving them their own schools, and hope the two never play
together? That's not right. We also can't force vaccinations.

We shouldn't fear no-vax kids.
I don't want those nearly eradicated diseases to creep back and infect
our society, but I also feel we should have a choice, and the choice
each parent makes for their child should be respected. A parent who
vaccinates also shouldn't be overly concerned about other children who
aren't because they are already protected -- isn't that why they got the
vaccine in the first place? Besides, it's not like non-vaccinated kids
are walking around carrying every frightening disease out there. They
aren't.

Our bodies. Our kids bodies. Should be our choice. And the government and schools should stick to what they know best.

Do you think the decision to vaccinate should lie with parents? Or should the government and schools get involved?

The choice to vaccinate or not is a medical decision -- and it is and should be up to the parents 100%, and when a person is of age, to that individual alone. Medical decisions should never be up to the government or anyone else except the individual, and in the case of minor children, the parents. The only time I think the government should intervene is when it is a life or death scenario -- such as, parents refusing treatment for something most likely treatable with minimal risk, ex: diabetes, a bacterial infecton getting worse and obviously needing antibiotics, ext. Even then...it's stll a slipperly slope.

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